░14░ Lucius' Past Memories

'Lucius come on!'

A boy who resembled his father, smilingly said at Lucius from afar. He was lending his hands to him but the child Lucius wouldn't move a bit to reach it. Instead, he secluded himself at the farthest dark place where he is - in contrast with the little boy who's offering his hand to him. He was being surrounded by a full bright place

A tear escaped from the little Lucius' eyes upon seeing the boy smiling from afar. Like the little boy had no problems at all. That’s the moment he felt envious, hateful, and angry to himself and everyone who thinks that he's pitiful just because he looked like that

Nevertheless, he felt such envy towards the little boy whom he knew was his half-brother.

With that scenario, another scene came flashing again. This time it’s where the little boy - Lucius was, there he was inside the household doing some chores. He was more like being a slave rather than a son to the duke inside the Maxwell duchy

'Oh! Look who's here Thesia if it weren't for the dirty blood I would have gone to this place more often'

A young girl said behind the one she's talking to. The little Lucius saw how the sight of him disgusted the two. Then, few seconds later, the two were out of Lucius’ eyes. They run as fast as they could just to avoid the little Lucius

After them disappearing from his sight he couldn't help but sigh for a moment. Until the duke passed the place where he was cleaning and grabbed him harshly. He was forcefully shove inside the torture room. Again the little boy's body was full of blood and scars. But no one did help him with that, he kept screaming and shouting but no one dared to help him

Such a scenario brings back the old pain, hurt, and suffering he had felt when he was born from Maxwell's duchy. He knew that he can't feel such emotions anymore. He had long decided to seal those and live like a garbage in the duchy. Until the time that he knows the truth about his birth, that will be the time he'll be leaving without a second thought

"Ah!" a soft scream was heard from the dead of the night as Lucius woke up from the sudden nightmare he had dreamt of a little while earlier. Upon adjusting his sight and emotions, he breathed hard to calm himself and looked around only to find that he was not in the basement

He tried remembering what had happened when his back aches from the sudden move. With the pain that he felt, he already know that he went inside the forest of the commoner's village. He went there to exchange some of the information he had about some other nobles involving illegal activities

He was supposed to meet the same man he previously met but his pain in the back overcame his whole being. That's the time he leaned on a tree bedside the path as he unexpectedly think of death instead of living. When he was about to give up his life, some figure he felt and saw in his blurry image gently lifted him up. The human spoke of words he can't process because of the pain

That time, even though he deny feeling something that concluded him to feel some tiny bit of hope. Like there is a little light in his dark world and then darkness eventually took over him afterward. He never know who the person was and where did that person take him. But when he felt the pain, he knew for sure that he's still alive

He touched his back only to find that it was aided already. He looked around the dark place and felt that he was on a comfortable sofa. He was about to stand from the sofa when he heard some voice - an all too familiar voice

"Looks like the duke can never spare you for once, Lucius," Victor, the father of Iris who helped him and the one whom he's giving information about, said seriously. Upon hearing such words, Lucius looked at where he heard the voice coming from and saw a slightly familiar figure not far away from where he was

"Same old time like the time I've found you in the market, you're like that. Like a lost kitten who had been tossed around after being used"

"Yeah, same as usual nothing's ever been new since the day that I was born," Lucius said adjusting to the place he's sitting. Removing the blanket that was covering his body earlier

'So he's the one who found me again earlier'

He thought as he seriously looked at the nearing figure in front of him feeling thirsty for a sudden minute

"T-thanks for saving me again this time," Lucius said with a rough voice trying to sound soft but deep. Like he sounded earlier if he weren't suddenly thirsty

"Here, drink some," Victor offered him water as he slightly removed the curtain from the window in their living room as the sign of light inside. He never wanted to wake his family by opening the lights inside the living room so he adjusted the curtain instead

Lucius gently took the glass with water and drank it. Feeling refreshed with the sudden coolness of it that came through his mouth, he breathe normally afterward

'He needs a little time to rest in here so sooner or later he'll find about my family. It's a great thing, besides I could tell him enough information in exchange he'll have to protect my family'

Victor thought seriously while looking at the boy who was drinking the water he gave him earlier

"It's not me that saved you this time around, it was my daughter who found you lying beside the path to our home," Victor truthfully said sighing afterward because he finally mention that he had a family and a comfortable house to Lucius - whom he was providing information at the same time exchanging that information with money

The day they met was the day he knew everything about him but never reciprocated with Lucius. He knew nothing about the guy up until now

'So he had a family and a house, considering the view it was such a nice cozy little house he got in here. Besides his daughter was the one that saved me earlier, huh? I wonder what kind of a lady she is'

Lucius thought becoming curious of the guy and his daughter. Though, that didn't let him off the guard as he knew very well how the man in front of him forced him to tell the truth that night. He forced him that night in exchange for helping him

"I thank your daughter, Sir, I guess it's time for me to go now," Lucius said as he was about to stand from his seat when a pair of hands stop him from lifting his ached body. Holding his shoulders gently

"I've already known earlier that Duke Derius will be leaving the empire for another business purpose and will not probably come for a month, so you have no reason to be back in the household for a long while - except if someone was waiting for you there, is there Lucius?" Victor said to him as Lucius was taken aback and remained from his seat like he didn't take a chance to leave it. Though in reality, Victor knew where the Duke was, he just wanted to make Lucius recover his injury.

‘He was badly beaten by the duke – the old disgusting evil duke he is’

Upon seeing Lucius's expressions he immediately removed his hands from his shoulders and looked at the window outside of their home

"Besides you're not being followed by anyone right now. I've already disposed of the knights assigned to follow you in the dark," Victor said sighing again while looking at the silent night and magnificent moon outside

"So all you need to do now is to pretend like a lost commoner child who was attacked from stealing something. That way, you'll be able to live here for a while recovering your injuries,"

"I guess I have no place to go for the time being so I'm thankful for offering this to me,"

"Call me Victor, not Sir anymore besides you'll be a good friend to my children but I just have a request in exchange for helping you to recover. Protect my family no matter what," Victor said turning around as he looked seriously at Lucius who was looking seriously back at him after gulping

'It's not a problem with me but I have a problem being close with anyone. I can't easily open my feelings towards them but I'll try’

"Yes I'll be able to do that, Victor," Lucius said truthfully as he laid his already - fine back at the sofa while closing his eyes again for sudden sleepiness he's feeling

"Alright, you might as well take some rest again, now I wish you sweet dreams, Lucius," Victor said to Lucius whose eyes were already closed as he breathed slowly making him feel comfortable sleeping from the sofa he's sitting

There Victor fixed his position gently as he cover him with the blanket that Lucius removed from his body earlier

'I hope this time you'll be able to find some happiness with us, I hope with such limited time we have you can treat us as part of your family already, Lucius'

Victor thought as he sadly smiled at the boy who was now sleeping peacefully on the sofa in their living room. He can't bear the truth that after Lucius waking up he'll immediately leave with his injured back. So he planned to make him drink some water pouring some sleeping powder inside the glass for him to sleep peacefully - after hearing him softly scream earlier

That made him wake up and look at the sofa where Lucius was earlier. With that, he immediately walked towards their kitchen and pressed a wooden block.There, a tiny door opened and he entered inside knowing it's where he's keeping his secret information about the nobles and importantly about the imperial family

Upon entering inside, he immediately looked at the papers of the Maxwell household - knowing the truth about Lucius' birth but because he needed him to finalize his revenge that he never finished from the start. Then, he needed to be closed to him and give hints slowly upon his birth

Only then, he'll fully understand what it means for someone to take the throne for themselves without considering other people's feelings

'Lucius, until now you're still kept in the dark but I hope you can calm yourself when you already know the truth'

With that, he saw the same symbol again that was in his back for the longest time, the symbol of the Maxwell duchy. A manipulating symbol using someone as their puppet to accomplish their goals

Upon reading the same papers over and over again, he learned something new about the duchy and it was that Derius - mustn't be the one who sits on the title as being the grand duke because he just stole the throne from his older brother who lose his life in a murder disguised as an accident